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Good afternoon, I have just posted my current situation and plan of attack over in the credit section [HERE]. Being as all but one of my collections is medical, it was suggested that I make a post over here for your advice on the situation. I have read your plan for dealing with medical debt, but being as from what I see, it involves paying the full amount owed, my plan did not include your method. Although I know for many people $3000 isn't much to be able to clean up your report but for us it simply isn't possible, at least not in a lump sum. Since I became unable to work 3 years ago, we are on a single income of less than $20,000 take home. So, hence my plan that if the debt was in fact proved as valid, a relationship exists, etc, etc, I would be looking at a payment plan. Preferably with the OC, but if they will not, then with the CA. Please let me know if you have any suggestions as far as how to deal with these debts. Thank you for your time. ~Amanda

A friend disputed two medical CAs on their Equifax report using the WhyChat HIPPA method and both came back deleted by Equifax: Stanislaus Credit Control — This item has been deleted from the credit file. California Service Bureau — This item has been deleted from the credit file. Should the OC now be paid by money order to preserve the deletion or are we done? They are for ~$25 and ~$350.

I wanted to post my two medical collections for organization sake, and to easily reference any questions and answers that may come up during the process. I have two medical collections: Collector A- $330.00 Collector B- $70.00 Opted out Deleted as many old addresses that I could, EX is being a pain with one EOMB- Jives with the amount due I sent the Pre HIPPA dispute letter (hand written on the sheet from whychat credit confusion site) to all three CRA's on 8/20/14 via certified mail only, no return receipt, they were received 8/21, 8/23, and 8/24. I figured a date of 9/28/14 for responses from the CRA's to be due- Latest CRA received date plus 30 days with an additional 5 for mail time. I want to prepare the Letter to CA DV's soon so that I have them ready to go if the CRA's come back as verified. I have a question about this line from the dv letter "This letter is being sent to you in response to your recent fraudulent verification of an unknown medical account on my (name of CRA) report" I don't have any communication I can locate, so I'm relying on the credit report entry. These two collections are only reporting on EX and EQ, not TU. Do I indicate EX and EQ in the (name of CRA) portion together? Do I do a separate letter to the CA about each CRA? Should I include TU just to cover my bases? I will update again when I receive responses from the CRA's Right track so far?

I just received a validation letter that states: Acct# Client(OC) Amount We have verified that you have the capability to pay the balance on this account. Call our office immediately to take care of this matter. I know that is not legal validation of a medical debt. What are my next steps? They already validated through a dispute on my husbands credit. They also have his name spelled wrong..anything I can do with that?

Hello WhyChat and everyone. I have been on the path to restore my credit for some many months/years. I have obtained paper copies and have cleaned my reports of almost all baddies except for medical collections. All three reports are clean of addresses, names, phone numbers, etc that are not current. Also, I'm opted out. After reading a post about how soon obsolete tradelines/collections could be taken off, I recently disputed an old non-medical tradeline (only showing on TU) as obsolete, which it was (and was deleted). With the quick success of that, I also have one medical tradeline which is around the 6 year, 6 month time that I figured I'd attempt to get taken off early. It's in the dispute stage right now; and I should hear something no later than the 15th of the month next month. Other than that, none of my other medical accounts have ever been disputed before - but I'm wondering if I should be patient after the results come back regardless of results. Will this change anything? I know WhyChat says wait 3 months since any previous disputes, but even if this fails the longest this will take to be removed will be Jan. 2015. If I could get everything else taken care of and simply have to wait for this to age naturally; I'd be fine with that.

I started the HIPPA process from an old medical collection on my TU CR. I sent the dispute letter to TU. Today I received a call from the CA regarding this acct. Went to voicemail but I'm wondering if I should speak to them. If so, what should I say? Don't want to mess up the HIPPA process. Thanks in advance!

Hi Everyone, Thanks to everyone's help here at CB, I'm down to the last few neg items on my CR. I have the following medical collections on my EQ report, and would love the get them taken care of. They are only on EQ, not TU or EFX. I'd love to hear some advice from Whychat on getting these removed. MERCHANTS CREDIT Agency Address: 2245 152nd Ave NE Redmond, WA 980525519 (425) 643-2613 Date Reported: 01/2014 Date Assigned: 11/2008 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MULTICARE MEDICAL GROUP Account Number: 167XXXX Account Owner: Individual Account. Original Amount Owned: $86 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 04/2008 Balance Date: 01/2014 Balance Owned: $143 Last Payment Date: N/A Status Date: 01/2014 Status: D - Unpaid Comments: Medical PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN Agency Address: 1019 Regents Blvd Fircrest, WA 984666037 (253) 566-1800 Date Reported: 01/2014 Date Assigned: 05/2009 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MULTICARE HEALTH SYSTEM Account Number: 257XXXX Account Owner: Joint Account Original Amount Owned: $1,731 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 04/2008 Balance Date: 01/2014 Balance Owned: $390 Last Payment Date: 08/04/2010 Status Date: 01/2014 Status: D - Unpaid Comments: Collection account PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN Agency Address: 1019 Regents Blvd Fircrest, WA 984666037 (253) 566-1800 Date Reported: 01/2014 Date Assigned: 11/2008 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MULTICARE HEALTH SYSTEM Account Number: 247XXXX Account Owner: Joint Account Original Amount Owned: $140 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 06/2008 Balance Date: 01/2014 Balance Owned: $233 Last Payment Date: N/A Status Date: 01/2014 Status: D - Unpaid Comments: Collection account PUGET SOUND COLLECTIONS IN Agency Address: 1019 Regents Blvd Fircrest, WA 984666037 (253) 566-1800 Date Reported: 01/2014 Date Assigned: 09/2008 Creditor Classification: Medical/Health Care Creditor Name: MULTICARE HEALTH SYSTEM Account Number: 245XXXX Account Owner: Joint Account Original Amount Owned: $196 Date of 1 st Delinquency: 07/2007 Balance Date: 01/2014 Balance Owned: $349 Last Payment Date: N/A Status Date: 01/2014 Status: D - Unpaid Comments: Collection account I think the balances are from when I tore my ACL in 2007, & went to the ER, MRI, & Orthopedic consult. My insurance never paid the bills because they assumed it was part of an auto accident (which it wasn't). I'm pretty sure the dates of delinquency are wrong, since the injury didn't happen over a year's span (not sure if that's a sticking point, or not). I moved out of state a few months after the injury, and didn't know these weren't paid until months later. When I found out, my wife called the insurance company and hospital & went through the process of getting the bills paid. I'm pretty sure the reporting balances are fees & interest charged by the CAs. As a kicker, as soon as my wife helped the hospitals get paid, they gave the CAs her info and reported the collections to her credit report, as well (stinkers). I have started Whychat's Hippa Process, (opted out, deleted old addresses, & sent initial dispute letters to CRA). EQ verified the accounts, but I received no response from the CAs. So, I sent the Medical Dispute Validation Letters to each of the CAs via certified mail. The CAs received the DV letters on 3/18/14. Now my questions: -Do I go ahead and send the follow up dispute letter to the CRAs now, or wait for a response from the CAs? -How long should I wait? -What if I don't receive a response from the CAs? -Does my wife follow the same dispute process to have them deleted from her file, as well? Thanks in advance for all your advice.

I'm fairly new to these boards and have been working on cleaning up my credit for about 4 months now. I just learned about the HIPPA process a week ago, on another board where it is very taboo/almost forbidden to discuss the HIPPA process. So going on previous advice I had received elsewhere, I began disputing with CRA's, sending DV letters to CA's and hoping they didnt respond, so I would get a deletion. I got nowhere. I tried the Pay for Delete method. One worked, just mailed that out yesterday. In the course of this process, one the medical collection agencies responded to my validation request, by sending me a copy of my full itemized hospital bill with procedure codes and descriptions, etc. This had me freaked out yesterday and I was certain that had to be a HIPPA violation in itself. Didnt really get clarification either way on that, but it doesnt change the fact that I want to remove this collection. So with that being said, can I: Start the HIPPA process even though they already verified by mailing me a copy of the bill? Would I proceed as if I had done nothing previously or should I start further in the process since I already have verification? I opted out. Pulled two fresh reports (EQ and EX, locked out of TU because of a dispute that hasnt been finished yet) I also faxed and mailed address deletion letters. This was just at the beginning of the week, so I imagine i will have to wait a while for verification they have or have not been deleted before proceeding to the initial dispute with CRA's.

So in my journey on repairing my credit, prior to learning of whychats HIPPA process, I sent a debt validation letter to a collection agency for a medical collection account that was showing on my credit report. They eventually got around to validating and in doing so, sent me a copy of the bill from the hospital. The full itemized bill with procedures listed (in abbreviated medical terms). This has to be a clear violation of HIPPA law, doesnt it? I'm new to learning this HIPPA stuff, but I certainly would think that would be a huge no-no. If they are in violation of HIPPA law, how should I proceed?

I have been lurking on the boards and finally got the nerve to start getting things in order. I have looked at why chat's HIPPA process (Thanks for all the nice info Why Chat, by the way) but I am still little confused on how to proceed in my case. This is my situation. 1. I have 2 paid collections showing from 4 years ago (yes I know, I shouldn't have paid, i didn't know). QUESTION: Should I send a pre-HIPPA or dispute letter to get these off my CR? 2. I have lived at my current address for 10+ years but one of bill and subsequent collection is from time when I went visiting my folks and had to go ER (in a different state). The bills for the visit went to my parents address first before they started coming to my current address. I used to live at that (parents) address while I was going to school so it does showup on my CR QUESTION: Should I do address delete first and then the dispute letter? 3. I recently called the another OC regarding another bill and while talking to CSR, asked her if I had any other bills and she confirmed that I do have some older bills but they have been sent to CA (they are being reported on my CR) and validated the right amount as being reported on my CR. So I asked her if I could pay her directly and then they could tell the CA to take it off my report. She said NO and said I have to contact the CA about paying it off or a settlement. QUESTION: Should I still do the dispute letter first or should I just do the payment to the Health Care Provider, since I kinda already validated the debt? So I am confused at the very first step I should take. Any guidance will help.

Hi everyone, I'm undergoing the HIPPA process to delete two medical accounts from the same creditor from my credit report. I've already opted out and sent the letter to delete old addresses. I was getting ready to send the initial dispute letter; however, I realized that about a year ago, when I was ordering my reports online, I think I already went through this process. The CRAs have an online process where you can dispute the veracity of a collection account just by clicking a button, and I did this last year. A few weeks later I got an email confirming that the creditor had verified the account. Now on the report, under 'Remarks', it says 'DISP INVG COMP - CONSUM DISAGRS;>PLACED FOR COLLECTION'. So the account has been verified, though it was a year ago. Do I skip the dispute letter, then, and move on to pay the account with the original creditor? Or do I send the dispute letter anyway? Many thanks.

Sorry in advance for the long first post. My wife has a bill from her labor & delivery in July 2013. We prepared for some expenses at the beginning of the year but did not expect complications that led to about $800 in meds and DME, and a week in the hospital for mom and baby after delivery. So after paying for the meds and DME we had a $1500 bill from the hospital. I wanted to try getting it reduced since our income is at ~150% FPL but couldn't get the paperwork figured out. Long story short, I was putting it off until we got our tax return, checking the bills for "final notice" or "past due" in case we needed to just throw it on a credit card, and I was reading the bill wrong so missed the fine print and we got a letter from the CA this week. The CA letter has our correct information and amount, plus interest. The letter reads: Your delinquent account has been assigned to USCB America to collect the balance now due. USCB is not aware of any reason for your nonpayment. If you do not dispute the amount owing, please pay the balance due. And on the back: INTEREST DISCLAIMER: In the event your account is accruing interest, be advised that because interest charges vary from day to day, the amount due on the day you pay may be greater than the total amount due referenced on the front of this notice. I tried to research what to do which is how I ended up here. I told my wife not to talk to them if they call her. The letter says the debt was assigned to the CA, not purchased by the CA, so I called the hospital billing to confirm the amount due and ask how we can pay. The hospital billing rep gave me the amount due without interest, and said we can pay them directly, but she said two things that I don't completely understand. First she said, the account is in collections, and so the CA might charge interest, even though the hospital isn't charging interest - it sounded like she was saying the CA was charging the hospital interest, but she was definitely implying that this interest was our problem, not the hospital's problem. I tried to get her to explain but all I got was that we would find out within 30 days if interest was an issue. I thought a CA can't charge interest on a debt they don't own, but if they owned the debt, 1) why would the letter say "assigned" and 2) why would the hospital still accept payment or even talk to me at all? Second thing that I didn't understand: She said when we pay the bill, the hospital will tell the CA that we paid it. That's exactly what she said, but I don't think that's what we want. It sounds like they're going to put it on the wife's credit report as a collections account. I want to just pay them off, I can put it on the credit card and worst case scenario we pay a month of interest before our tax return comes (just waiting for the W-2s, they usually come at the beginning of February from wife's employer), but only if it's going to keep the debt from going on wife's credit report. Today we pulled her reports and there are no bad marks with 2 of the agencies, we have to wait for the trans union report to come by mail because she made a mistake in the identity verification step, but she checked her credit karma account (which uses trans union) and it's not showing up there so we're assuming the account has not been reported to the CRAs. (So I don't think we can use Why Chat's HIPAA process since we have no collections account to dispute to the CRAs which is the first step.) In a perfect world here is what I would do: Send a cashier's check to the hospital with a letter insisting that they instruct the CA to nuke the account without reporting it since there is no payment due, reference applicable laws (FCRA, HIPAA, others?), and relax. Is this the right move? I'm worried that if we rush to pay the hospital they will just tell the CA to report the account as paid. And to be honest, if she has to have a bad mark on her credit either way, I would just as soon wait until we can negotiate a smaller settlement from the CA. Thanks for your advice.

I have a $4000 medical bill showing up on all 3 credit reports that is only 4 years old. Sent a DV letter, but not a medical DV letter before I found the Hipaa letter method..The CA sent a verification sheet yesterday with the appointment dates, names of who was seen, the doctors names and the amount that is owed. So should I just dispute the amount with CRA now or send a medical DV to the CA next?? Does the generic DV just take the place of the medical DV? What's my next step? Please help... SO CONFUSED...

Hello all. I am trying to buy my first home, and need to raise my credit score a little bit. I had one medical collections on my account. It was sold to a Medical Collection Company in Morgantown, WV. It was for $12,423. It was a few years old, and I did just pay it off in full 2 months ago. I would like it removed completely if possible. I have been reading, and found THIS... I have printed out the dispute form, and handwritten the whole thing. I was going to be mailing these letters to the Credit Reporting Agencies (Equifax, Transunion, Experian) on Friday if I get positive replies that I am doing this right. I used the reason for dispute that was typed on the link I provided. Is there any steps that I am missing, or anything that I should do before sending these letters??? Please let me know, as this is a huge part of what is holding me back from achieving my goal of buying a home. I have very limited credit, and need to be over a 640, and currently I am 20 points shy... I am hoping that removing this will really help me out...

I am opted out. I have deleted all addresses. I sent dispute letters to each CRA. The accounts were verified and remain on report. However, I’ve yet to hear anything from the collection agency. I sent medical dispute validation letter to collection agency. Then I sent the follow up letter to the CRAs. Waited 30 days…nothing. So I did steps 5 & 6 again. Still nothing…. What do I do now? Other info… There are two accounts at the same collection agency for two different providers. Unsure what one account is…Credit report lists Date of first delinquency as 06/2007. The other one I KNOW I owe. Checked my dental EOB and it all looks correct. DOS 2/2009. I’m in Oklahoma. Thanks in advanced for your help. These are the last two medicals on my reports. I've paid everything else and can now file them on my taxes because of this site! Thanks again!!!

So me and the neighbor get to talking about him and his credit and come to find out he sent in a blanket NOT MINE dispute on a number of accounts. Most of them were medical and all the medicals remain. In trying to convert him over to the HIPPA method (he deleted as many old addys as he could per a conversation we had months ago) ...so what is best advice. I told him to make sure all those disputes are complete with responses from the bureau. On some posts I see where one states to wait 30 days before touching those accounts again. He does not want to let an idle month go by so he asked if he could dispute some non medical stuff since the addresses are now gone.... wait until that dispute is complete or 30 days from when it was received and complete.. and then start over with the HIPPA process. As I know Experian is typically known for the Previously Investigated response, will this hurt or hinder him in any way or will it still constitute as having been included in his PRE-HIPPA letter once sent again. Thanks in advance WhyChat and any others that may chime in.

So I have my old addresses deleted. I received a reply from the last bureau yesterday (took them long enough). I opted out also. Now I know I'm supposed to send Debt Verification letters to the bureau. I'm scared to send them. What happens if I send them, they verify....are they going to put the old addresses back onto my credit report? If I send these letters, will the collection agencies start calling me again (for the ones that aren't paid) or will the ones that are paid be renewed? I'm terribly nervous. My goal is the move my score up about 50 pts by the time all this is completed. Enough to get a mortgage at a decent rate. Its my last chance to do anything. Medical debt is the ONLY negative thing on my credit report....its driving me crazy how lack of insurance for 6 months and getting seriously ill, led to all this drama and ruined my life.

Thank you Whychat for your helpful site. Unfortunately, I have come upon a scenario that I could not find directions for on your site nor this forum (probably because I'm not using the correct search keyword). I have been following the HIPPA Letter Program to dispute two accounts with same CA coming from same OC. After Completing the preliminary steps (removing old adresses, opting out, initial HIPPA dispute with CRAs), I had sent out the medical DV with Balance due letter to CA. It has been over 30 days and I have not heard back form them. All CRAs have come back verified after sending out followup letter. What do I do next? I Know I will have to pay the bill and I am prepared to do so. Thus, I called the OC 2 month ago, before I started the HIPPA Letter Program, to get an exact amount. Apparently, they switch their systems 2 years ago and could not access their files. Was told I would be contacted once their IT Department looked into the matter. When I called to follow up, they still could not access the files. Should I go ahead and send the OC letter and pay now? Other info CA: MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION COLLECTION DIVISION INC OC: Your Care Clinics Amount Owed: $1155 Location: Tampa, Florida Collection Since 10/2010 Still withing SOL

Well i dont actually need a breakdown of the entire process as that is pretty clear however.. the MIB Report in the preliminary steps is what is confusing me. I am trying to see the significance of this step in the program because as I am going through the HIPPA process, i dont see the MIB report mentioned again as anything that we bring back into play in the process. Did i simply miss something and if this is a nuisance question, I apologize as I tried my best to search this before starting a thread.. any useful information is welcomed.

Hi WhyChat - I successfully paid the OC with your Hippa letter with insert a. The doctors office cashed the bank check on 7/16. How do I ensure that the CA takes it off of my credit report? Thanks so much for the help. I have successfully deleted a bunch of old medical accounts using your process and have 4 other payments out to the original provider using the insert a letter.

So, I opted out; deleted as many prior addresses as they would let me. 3 separate accounts came back verified by EX and EQ all from the same CA. Do I send three separate DV's for each verifying CRA or do I lump them all into one letter with all 3 accounts listed for each CRA? Thanks for the assistance.

After completing all preliminary stuff, deleting old addresses and opting out, I started whychat's HIPPA Letter Program. I am still waiting on the response from the first step. "PRE HIPAA MEDICAL DISPUTE LETTER TO CRA" I Know I will have to pay the bill and I am prepared to do so. Thus, I called the OC a month ago to get an exact amount. Apparently, they switch their systems 2 years ago and could not access their files. Was told I would be contacted once their IT Department looked into the matter. When I called to follow up, they still could not access the files. The person over the phone said she remembered getting a call for the collection agency and said that she will contact them to see if they can get any records form them. This does not sound right to me. Can the OC Request Records form the CA if they could not access their own? and, did i commit an error by calling the OC? Also, on a separate related matter, this Collection is being reported on Innovis. Do i follow the same process as with the big three CRA? Other info, CA: MCB COLLECTION SERVICES(EQ), MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION COLLECTION DIVISION INC(All Others) Amount Owed: $1155 Location: Tampa, Florida Collection Since 10/2010 Still withing SOL

Quick question - Sent TU CM initial hippa dispute - delivered 5/23. No response from them and nothing is marked in dispute. Wife's have already been deleted with updated letter rcvd back from TU. I did opt out and delete old addresses. What is my next step with TU. Both EQ and EX are being investigated right now?

Okay so should I ask for all old phone numbers to be removed? All variations of names? ( for example I see my first name then middle name, maiden name and first name, and names in the incorect correct order Lastly as far as the address should I ask that all old addresses be removed ? Before doing so do I need to go to the dmv to have my DL updated with my new address before opting out? ( Just moved) Thanks in advance.

Hello WhyChat! I live in NJ and if I am not mistaken have been fully covered for HOSPITAL since 2008 - these bills appear to be from 2009 and 2010. I have opted out & I am now sending in my PSE&G bill, ID, & SS to the CRA's for address deletions - On the bill should I white out the account numbers? In your HIPPA guidebook I saw that I should get an Explanation of medical benefits from the insurance company (when i call do i ask for specific time frames to coordinate with the collections below?) - OR should I first send out the "PRE HIPAA MEDICAL DISPUTE LETTER TO CRA"?? I honestly do not recall getting these services - I'm thinking they were for my toddler - but either way we both have insurance. Is there a time frame as to when insurance NO LONGER has to pay? Here are the 3 Medical Collections that appear on all 3 CRA's: 1) HEALTHCARE FUNDING SLTNS LLC Address: 4340 S MONACO ST UNIT 2 DENVER, CO 80237 (303) 296-3345 Original Creditor: Hospital Status: Collection account. $825 past due as of Jan 2013. Date Opened: 12/2009 Reported Since: 02/2010 Date of Status: 02/2010 Last Reported: 01/2013 Type: Collection Terms: 1 Months Monthly Payment: $0 Responsibility: Individual Credit Limit/Original Amount: $825 High Balance: NA Recent Balance: $825 Recent Payment: $0 Account History: Collection as of Feb 2010 to Jan 2013 2) HEALTHCARE FUNDING SLTNS LLC Address: 4340 S MONACO ST UNIT 2 DENVER, CO 80237 (303) 296-3345 Original Creditor: Hospital Status: Collection account. $550 past due as of Jan 2013. Date Opened: 03/2010 Reported Since: 06/2010 Date of Status: 06/2010 Last Reported: 01/2013 Type: Collection Terms: 1 Months Monthly Payment: $0 Responsibility: Individual Credit Limit/Original Amount: $550 High Balance: NA Recent Balance: $550 Recent Payment: $0 Account History: Collection as of Jun 2010 to Jan 2013 3) HEALTHCARE FUNDING SLTNS LLC Address: 4340 S MONACO ST UNIT 2 DENVER, CO 80237 (303) 296-3345 Original Creditor: Hospital Status: Collection account. $788past due as of Jan 2013. Date Opened: 06/2010 Reported Since: 09/2010 Date of Status: 09/2010 Last Reported: 01/2013 Type: Collection Terms: 1 Months Monthly Payment: $0 Responsibility: Individual Credit Limit/Original Amount: $788 High Balance: NA Recent Balance: $788 Recent Payment: $0 Account History: Collection as of Sep 2010 to Jan 2013 Any help from WhyChat & CB is greatly appreciated with many many thanks in advance!